Apparatus for shifting cars.



= Y .wdw,

No. 847,950 I PATENTED MAR. 19. 1907:

I F. L KIMBALL. APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING CARS.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT.20,190B.

a sums-sum 1.

II I

a Mount} 8 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

flnuenfoz imil j Imm I UNrrnn s'rarns PATENT QFFICE.

FRANK I. KIMBALL, OF IIERMINIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR SHIFTING. CARS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed September 20, 1906. Serial No. 335,449.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK I. KIMBALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Herminie, in the county of Westmoreland and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements inApparatus of which the following is a I June 4,1889.

In the patented machine the live steam passes into and the exhaust-steamout from the cylinder through the same ports, with the result that theexhaust-steam blows out nearly all of the oil, so that the ordinarysight-feed lubricator does not afiord adequate lubrication. In themachine referred to there is no eflicient regulation of the steam duringthe return strokethat is to say, a fixed opening is provided in thecheck-valve of an automatic nature and not under the control of theoperator, which results in a variable speed dependent upon the pressureand dryness of the steam and temperature of the cylinder. Likewise uponthe co1nple= tion of the return stroke no adequate cushion is affordedto keep the piston from striking the cylinder-head.

The object of the present invention is to obviate these deficiencies,first, bythe introduction of separate orts for the steam to pass intoand out of t e cylinder, so that the direction in which the steamtravels is not re versed, thereby carrying the oil along with the steam;second, the introduction of a regulating-valve in the live-steam passageat a point between the slide-valve and the piston, so that the speed ofthe latter can be regulated without disturbing the slide-valve, thisregulating-valve must be adjustable from the outside and convenientlyarranged and located so that the operator can change the speed of themachine instantly and at will; third, the introduction of a similarvalve in a pipe or by-pass leading from the steam-chest to the forwardend of the ma chine to regulate the speed of the forward or outwardstroke, which regulating-valve must be placed between the slide-valveand the piston-exhaust; if placed between the slide-valve and theboiler, as in the original machine referred to, there will not besufficient pressure on top of the slide-valve to hold the steam-cushionin the cylinder, thus preventing the slide-valve from lifting and let-.

ting the cushion out, and, fourth, the introduction of separate portsfor steam and exhaust, so that on the return stroke the piston iscushioned upon the steam shut into the end of the cylinder by the pistonpassing overand closing the exhaust-port, the piston being made longenough, contrary to the usual practice, to entirely cover theexhaust-port during the travel of the piston into the. cushion.

Still another defect in the present machines resides in the fact thatthe main steam-valve has no lap, so that the pressure is always on oneend of the cylinder, causing unnecessary strain on the packing and lossfrom radiation of heat when the machine is not working. I;

propose, if practicable, in the present construction to introduce a D orMyers valve with the lap arrangement of seat and ports having asufficient lap to shut the steam out of the cylinder when the machine isnot working.

With the foregoing objects in view mypresent invention consists incertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, whichwill be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of theapparatus, showing my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is anenlarged section through the cylinder; Fig. 3 is an end View of thesame. view looking down on the valve-chest, the ports being'indicated bydotted lines.

In the cylinder L the piston M is fitted, and this piston has apiston-rod N, which eX- tends out through the outer end of thecylinderin position to push the car 4, as hitherto. A valve-chest O islocated over the cylinder, as shown, and this chest is provided with thelive-steam orifices A and A at its opposite ends, which communicate withlive-steam ports or pipes B and B, respectively, which later lead to theopposite ends of the cylinder. Orifioes H and H form the outlets oftheex haust ports or pipes F G and F G, leading from the opposite ends ofthe cylinder and discharging into the main exhaust I J. The piston Mmust be of sufficient length to cover the exhaust-port F when the pistonis against the head P, as otherwise the steam which is pushed by thepiston toward thehcad P would escape through port F, and the Fig. 4 isa.

ICC

piston preferably has a double set of rings at each end to make it fitthe bore of the cylinder steam-tight.

A by-pass C leads from the live-steam port B into the inner end of thecylinder L at E, and this by-pass is controlled by the regulating-valvel) by the operator. A similar bypass 0 at the opposite end of thecylinder connects the live-steam port by passing the steam in thelive-steam port B around the plug K, and this by-pass is provided with aregulating-valve D, which is under the control of the operator. Theexhaust-ports F G and F G may be cast on the outside of the cylinder, orin some machines piping may be used instead.

The main slide-valve is opened by the engineer in order to start theoperation of the machine, and the piston is preferably reversedautomatically when it reaches the outer end of its stroke by the same orsimilar mechanism to that disclosed in the Ramsay patent and which isillustrated in Fig. l, a frame 9 being carried forward by the piston-rodN. This frame is mounted on wheels 10, which travel on the elevatedtrack 11, so that when the frame 9 has been carried forward nearly tothe end of its stroke the wheels 10 pass under an arm 1 6, which isconnected by a rod 15 to a lever 14, which is connected with theslide-valve, and the lifting of this arm 16 reverses the slide-valveautomatically. The valve is reversed just before the piston M completesits stroke, so as to maintain a cushion of steam in the outer end of thecylinder, and thereby prevent injury to the pis ton or cylinder-head.

The operation is briefly as follows: As shown in Fig. 2, the piston M isat the end of the return stroke, the piston-rod N being drawn back intothe cylinder L. In order to start the machine, the slide-valve V isdrawn forward by hand to the left end of valvechest 0. Steam beingadmitted to the ori fice A and the right steam-port B, the steam passesdown into the port B and thence through pipe 0, passing theregulating-valve D and through opening E into the rear end of thecylinder L. The pressure on the piston M forces the latter and its rodforward, pushing the car 4 which is in front of it, as in the Ramsaypatent. vVhen the ear is pushed far enough, the slidevalve isautomatically reversed, as previously explained, and live steam admittedthrough the orifice A into the port B, the same movement of thevalveclosing orifice A, orifice H, exhaust-port F G and opens theorifice H into main exhaust I J, permitting the steam in the inner endof the cylinder to exhaust through exhaust-port F G. The live steampasses through orifice A into the port B, thence I through by-pass 0passes the regulatingvalve D through the outlet E into the outer end ofthe cylinder L. The piston M is forced back by the steam-pressure towardthe position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The exhaust-port F G,orifice H, and. main exhaust-port J are now all open, the exhaust-steampassing freely out and into the open air, while the port l" G andorifice ll are closed by the valve at ll. As soon as the piston M.passes over the exlnuistnn't F G the steam which is contained in theinner end of the cylinder between this exhaustport and thecylirnler-head l is shut in and forms a cushion to stop the piston M. Itwill be observed. that the piston M must be long enough to cover port FG when the piston is against the head P, or else the steam which ispushing the piston M from the other end would escape through port F (j.A small opening in the head 1, controlled by a small regulating-valve P,allows the cushion and any steam which may leak through the valve 1) toslowly escape, as otherwise the piston M would "chatterthat is to say,rebound on the cushion and be again forced against the cushion by thelive steam on the other side of the piston. The piston is now ready foranother forward stroke. The valve is again moved to the right by hand,opening orifice A, closing orifice ll to the main exhaust-port I J,opening orifice ll and the main exhaust-port I J, and closing orifice A.The piston M is again forced forward, and steam passes out through portsF G and orifice H. to the main exhaust I if to the open air. In this waya most elficient apparatus is provided entirely obviating the objectionshitherto present in apparatus of this character, while subjecting theentire control of the stroke in both directions to the will of theengineer in control.

While the apparatus has been (kscrihed as adapted for steam, it isevident that pneumatic pressure might be used or possibly hydraulicpressure.

It is also evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the formandv arrangement of the several parts described. without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I: do not wish to limitmyself to the exact G )ll$h1l1('i)l01l herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a cylinder, piston, steamchest and valvetherein, said steam-chest having an U'll'llfifl, and independent liveand exhaust steam ports extending from opposite ends of the cylinder tothe orifines in. the steam-chest, said live-steam ports each havingby-passes, each by-pass having a valve therein. and a valve to permitthe steam cushioning medium in the end of the cylinder to slowly escape.

2. The combination with a cylinder, piston, steamhest and valve therein,said its steam-chest having orifices, and independent live and exhauststeam ports extending from opposite ends of the cylinder to the orificesin the steam-chest one of the exhaust-ports leading from the extreme endof the cylinder and the other leading from the cylinder at a point anappreciable distance from the end of the cylinder, and a valve forbleeding this end of the cylinder of means within the control of theoperator independent of the main slide-valve for controlling the amountof live steam discharging into the ends of the cylinder.

3. The combination with a cylinder, piston, steam-chest and valve, oflive-steam ports leading from the steam-chest to the opposite ends ofthe cylinder and independent exhaust-ports the cylinder to thesteamchest, one exhaustport located at the extreme end of the cylinderand the other an appreciable distance leading from opposite ends of Ifrom the end of the cylinder and the piston being of greater length thanthe distance between this latter exhaust-port and the end of I thecylinder whereby the exhaust is closed by the piston in order to trapsteam into the end of the cylinder to form a cushion.

4. The combination with a cylinder, piston, steam-chest, valve, live andexhaust ports, of a by-pass, discharging into the extreme end of thecylinder, a regulating-valve therein and a 'valveto permit the steamcushioning medium in the end of the cylinder to slowly escape.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK I. 'KIMBALL.

Witnesses HARRY MoCUNE, ALBERTA WANAMAKER.

